The Auburn running back has been on a mission of sorts in his senior season, with a chip on his shoulder about offseason talk about how the Tigers would fare without Tre Mason in the backfield.

With 289 yards and four touchdowns in two games, stats that rank eighth and tied for fifth nationally, respectively, Artis-Payne has quickly squashed any concern about Auburn's rushing attack.

Much like Mason a year ago, Artis-Payne entered this season with only a few 100-yard rushing performances. With back-to-back 100-yard outings to start the season, Artis-Payne has already matched his total from last year, and his second-half production is astounding so far.

"I'm built to last," Artis-Payne said about carrying 20-plus times a game. "I ain't worried about that. I can do that. Twenty times a game that ain't nothing; we can do that."

Artis-Payne didn't have to carry 20 times against San Jose State, racking up all of his 16 carries for 112 yards and career-best three touchdowns in the first three quarters.

He already has three runs of over 20 yards, compared to six all of last season, and is averaging 9.85 yards per carry in the second half compared to 5.55 in the first half.

"He's had a big impact," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. "He's ran extremely hard. He has a lot of yards after contact, which is very important. He's the type of runner that I believe gets stronger as the game goes on."

When Auburn went on the road to LSU last season, Mason took over as the lead back, carrying the ball at least 20 times in nine of the final 11 games on his way to breaking Bo Jackson's single-season program rushing record and finished with 1,816 yards and 23 touchdowns.

There's a long way to go before Artis-Payne can touch those numbers or be a Heisman Trophy candidate, though he is now listed as a 25-to-1 shot to do so by the Bovada online sportsbook, only Georgia's Todd Gurley (6-to-1) and Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon (20-to-1) have better current odds among running backs.

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Malzahn sees "more similarities than there are differences" between Artis-Payne and Mason.

"Tre was such an exceptional between the tackles runner and I think Cameron has some of those same traits," Malzahn said. "Cameron also has gotten a little quicker and a little faster from this time last year. He probably lost 5-10 pounds and I really think that's helped him."

Artis-Payne has shown some of that improved speed with runs of 28 and 32 yards against Arkansas and only a 31-yard cutback run against San Jose State, which he followed with a 1-yard touchdown run.

"He's showed some moves, not just to run people over, but to cut the inside shoulder and make a guy miss in space last week, which was really good," offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee said. "You couple that with his ability to finish downhill behind his pads, I think that's him developing into a better overall back. I've been really pleased."

Artis-Payne has been a reliable and powerful back on third-and-short and explosive on early downs, showing he can "do it all," but he's by no means satisfied.

"I'm going to keep improving on each thing," he said. "I'm not where I want to be yet, but I'm doing all right."